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ILL Fortune, which, from the day of ancient ROME, has been ordinarily followed by neglect, obscurity, and oftentimes disgrace, opened a more extensive field for the display of YOUR LORDSHIP's endowments; and like the blasts of Winter on the rooted oak, hold out honourable testimony of superior strength.

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IN the Eastern world, YOUR LORDSHIP has been opposed to an enemy far more formidable, the possession of a power never before exercised by a British subject; not even committed to the first magistrate of our state; and which extends over a spacious region, a numerous and wealthy people. Yet, far removed from controul, in a land whose every principle of government is actuated by a rapacious avarice, whose people never approach the gate of authority without an offering, we have seen, and with wonder, the inflexible maintenance of an integrity, only to be equalled by a temperate use of command.

BUT, panegyrick being the least grateful where it is the most due, I will close this address, with a zealous wish, that YOUR

LORDSHIP may yet continue to govern the British dominion in India, and complete the work that already hath assumed so fair an aspect. The sacrifice is great, but the reward is still greater; it will reach beyond the sovereign's bounty, or the people's praise.

I have the honour to be,

With the most profound respect,

MY LORD,

YOUR LORDSHIP'S

CALCUTTA,

Most devoted,

And most obedient

August the 1st, 1790.

humble Servant,

GEORGE FORSTER.

P R E F A CЕ.

BOOKS of Voyages and Travels having been ever held in estimation, and indulgently received, I am the less fearful of submitting the following volume to the notice of the public. A knowledge of the manners of different nations qualifies domestic prejudice, and enlightens the mind; but the subjects of Britain derive from it a singular benefit; they see, through a comparison that communicates a fond pleasure to the heart, the unrivalled excellency of their laws, constitution, and government; they see these rare gifts brightly reflected on their national character, which still avowedly maintains its pre-eminence amongst the nations of the European world. Were a man to form a judgment of the bias of his own genius and disposition (on the merits of

which he is, perhaps the least qualified to decide), I would unreservedly say, that in the course of my jour ney, I felt no impulse of partiality for any sect or body of men. It is of serious concern to letters, that many a man of genius and science has fixed a discredit on his works, by a wilful adherence to some favourite system, which alluring to its standard a various train of affections, and ideas, he becomes involuntarily incited to sacrifice to it the principles of truth and reason.

TRAVELLERS stand accused, even on proverbial authority, of adopting a figurative and loose style of description; and as I have been thrown into tracks, removed from the eye of European observation, I am prompted to earnestly solicit the confidence of the public in behalf of this work, and to say, that however vitiated by the errors of judgment, it has no tendency to discolour or misrepresent truth. The cursory dissertation on the former and present state of Bengal, may have some claim to favour, from the consideration that I visited that province in the description of a passenger; though but a small portion of local knowledge might have been acquired, essential advantages arose from this temporary residence.

GUIDED by no views of interest, nor impressed by any frown of power, I was enabled to examine the objects that came before me through a dispassionate medium.

THE letter on the mythology of the Hindoos, some copies of which were published in 1785, has been corrected since my return to India; but from the various intricacy of the subject, I am apprehensive it may yet contain errors and apparent inconsistencies. Investigations of the religious ceremonies and customs of the Hindoos, written in the Carnatic, and in the Punjab, would in many examples widely differ; yet the Hindoo religion, in all parts of India, stands on a common basis; nor does the vast superstructure, when the view is inspected with attention, essentially differ in its compartments. The ostensible dissimilarity arises, perhaps, from the manners of the same people, varying in Northern and Southern regions. A native of the lower Carnatic is mild, temperate, and generally timid; he performs the ordinances of his religion with a zealous and scrupulous attention; and the Bramin of that country, with many of the other sects, is confined strictly to the use of vege table diet. How strong the contrast appears in the inhabitant of the Punjab; those even of domestic and laborious professions, are brave, daring, and often cruel. Bramins are the usual soldiers of the country, many of whom eat flesh meat; and they never leave their home, even when not employed in military service, without weapons of offence. The merchants and me-chanicks, when they go but a few miles abroad, are all strongly armed; and in some of the Northern pro

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